Coverage and usage of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) within households: associated factors and effect on the prevalance of malaria parasitemia in the Mount Cameroon area

Abstract

Background Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are a widely used tool that has been proven to be effective in the prevention and control of malaria in malaria endemic countries. However, usage varies among households and can greatly affect the benefits of ITNs as a control tool for malaria transmission. This study determined the coverage and usage of ITNS as well as associated factors and the effect of coverage and usage on the prevalence of malaria parasitemia within households in the Mount Cameroon area. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2014 in six communities within the Mount Cameroon area. Households within the communities were enrolled through multistage sampling and household survey was done using a structured questionnaire. Capillary blood was collected for malaria parasite determination. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20 for windows. Differences in proportions were assessed using the Chi-square test while factors affecting ITNs usage were assessed in multivariate logistic regression at a statistical significance of P ≤ 0.05. Results A total of 504 households were surveyed, 1564 bed spaces reported while 915(58.5, 95% CI: 56.1–60.9) of the bed spaces had nets and 391(77.6, 95% CI, 74.0–80.2) of the households had at least one bed net. The odds of using ITNs was 2 folds higher (OR = 2.41; 95% CI 1.58–3.69 p = 0.001) and 3 folds higher (OR = 3.149, 95% CI 1.53–6.47 p = 0.002) among houses with 5 to 9 occupants and above 10 occupants respectively when compared to houses with less than 5 occupants. In addition, Individuals living in cement block houses were less likely to use ITNs. Compared to those living in wooden houses (OR = 0.488, 95% CI: 0.269–0.885; p = 0 .018). Rural communities had lower ITN coverage compared to semi-urban communities ( p = 0.0001). Increase in ITNs coverage significantly reduces malaria prevalence (correlation − 0.899, p = 0.015). Conclusion Despite the efforts made to scale up ITN distribution so that universal coverage can be attained, coverage remains low. Increasing coverage and putting in place a mechanism to replace torn nets will go a long way reduce the prevalence of malaria parasitemia. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7555-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Malaria screening at the workplace in Cameroon

“…Employees living in households whose family size was > 2 had more chances of using ITNs compared to their counterparts living in households with family size ≤ 2. This is consistent with a recent report carried out in the Southern part in Cameroon [48]. Sensitization on the benefits of ITNs greatly increases the chances of their usage among owners.…”

“…Sensitization on the benefits of ITNs greatly increases the chances of their usage among owners. Njumkeng and colleagues outlined that the rate of ITNs usage is higher in households with greater number of occupants, as there are more chances to find someone aware on the benefits of ITNs use who can educate their relatives [48]. Conversely, this finding is not in line with previous reports outlining a negative association between family size and ITNs usage [49].…”

Predictors of Ownership/Utilisation Indicators of Long-lasting Insecticide Nets in the Bamendankwe Health Area of Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The aim of this study was to determine the LLINs ownership indicators, LLINs utilisation indicators and associated predictors of LLINs ownership/utilisation amongst household heads in the Bamendankwe Health area. LLINs ownership of 93.3% in this study was higher than the 47 -89.9% reported elsewhere in Cameroon [2,4,16,[21][22][23], the 33.3 -85% in Africa [24][25][26][27][28], and the 15.5 -48% in in Asia [29,30]. It was, however, lower than the 99.7% reported in Myanmar [31] and in line with the 93.5% reported in Madagascar [27].…”

Individual, community and region level predictors of insecticide-treated net use among women in Uganda: a multilevel analysis

“…This finding is, however, consistent with a Cameroon-based study on coverage and usage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) within households. Unlike smaller households, households with greater or more members are more likely to have someone who can educate other household members on the relevance of ITN [33].…”